MONSTER’S
BALL ($25) is a powerful drama about two emotionally bereft people
who find an unlikely love amidst tragedy. Billy Bob Thornton stars as
Hank Grotowski, a second-generation corrections officer from the south,
who finds himself caught between the expectations of his bigoted father
Buck (Peter Boyle) and the ideology his tolerant, more sensitive son Sonny
(Heath Ledger), whom he has brought into the "family business."
Unfortunately, Hank feels a great deal of resentment towards his son,
with the long simmering situation escalating out of control, when Sonny
has difficulties performing his duties during the execution of prisoner
Lawrence Musgrove (Sean Combs).
Just
as Hank’s life reaches its bleakest point, fate intervenes and he meets
a black woman named Leticia (Halle Berry), whom Hank later learns is the
widow of the man he recently took to the electric chair. Initially, the
two take solace from one another, but as their relationship continues,
each comes to think that they may have found the possibility for some
sort of future with a bit of happiness. I don’t think that MONSTER’S
BALL is not an easy film for audiences to immediately relate. The
film begins bleakly, plus the characters have an emotional remoteness
that makes them unattractive. However, as MONSTER’S BALL progresses,
the character’s buried humanity begins to shine through.
What
makes MONSTER’S BALL a film worth seeing is the outstanding performances
of its cast. It came as no surprise when Halle Berry earned herself an
Academy Award for Best Actress for her raw, emotional portrayal. However,
what I did find surprising about MONSTER’S BALL was the fact that
the Academy failed to even nominate Billy Bob Thornton or Peter Boyle
for their outstanding work. Even Heath Ledger deserves praise for his
portrayal. Director Marc Forster allows the actors to immerse themselves
in their roles and his naturalistic style never shies away from the more
unpleasant moments in these characters lives. In fact, much of MONSTER’S
BALL is like an exposed nerve- extremely painful and completely lacking
in protection.
Lion's
Gate Home Entertainment has made MONSTER’S BALL available on DVD
in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback
on 16:9 displays. MONSTER’S BALL is not an attractive looking movie;
it is a low budget affair and features rather stark cinematography. However,
I’d have to rate the transfer as excellent for rendering the film as cleanly
and as well defined as it appears on the DVD. Colors are decidedly muted,
but flesh tones remain realistic throughout the course of the film. Blacks
are accurately reproduced and the contrast is a little harsh, but that
works in favor of the movie’s overall atmosphere. The film element is
free from blemishes, however grain is noticeable in a number of places
throughout. The dual layer DVD doesn’t betray any signs of digital compression
artifacts.
MONSTER’S
BALL features an intimate, but
very effective Dolby Digital 5.1 channel sound mix. This is very much
a dialogue driven film, with few opportunities for active sound effects,
but the sound designers did take good advantage of digital format’s capabilities
to create realistic sonic environments, as well as rendering the film’s
haunting score in an immersive manner. Dialogue is cleanly reproduced,
with intelligibility being limited only by performance. An English Dolby
Surround soundtrack is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English and Spanish
subtitles.
Music
and a bit of animation serve to enhance the DVD’s stylishly somber interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental materials. MONSTER’S
BALL features two running audio commentaries; the first is with director
Marc Forster and director of photography Roberto Schaefer, while the second
includes director Forster again, along with actors Billy Bob Thorton and
Halle Berry. Both commentaries have their merits; the first covers the
technical bases, while the second offers more insight into the acting
process. I think most individuals will find the second commentary more
accessible, so that is the one with which they should start.
The
Behind The Scenes section offers more than four minutes
worth of outtakes, with the highlight being Billy Boy revisiting his SLING
BLADE character. Scoring The Film runs eight minutes
and provides interviews with the director and composers, as well as a
looking at the scoring sessions. Four Deleted Scenes are
included on the DVD, and while they add further depth to the characters,
they really don’t advance the story and were obviously cut for pacing.
A trailer for the video release of MONSTER’S BALL closes out the
supplements.
As
I stated above, MONSTER’S BALL is a powerful drama that doesn’t
portray its characters in a very flattering light. However, the movie
does offer huge payoffs, thanks to the outstanding performances of a first
rate cast. Lion’s Gate has done a truly fine job with the DVD, making
this a disc that fans of the movie will want to own.
MONSTER’S
BALL ($25) is a powerful drama about two emotionally bereft people
who find an unlikely love amidst tragedy. Billy Bob Thornton stars as
Hank Grotowski, a second-generation corrections officer from the south,
who finds himself caught between the expectations of his bigoted father
Buck (Peter Boyle) and the ideology his tolerant, more sensitive son Sonny
(Heath Ledger), whom he has brought into the "family business."
Unfortunately, Hank feels a great deal of resentment towards his son,
with the long simmering situation escalating out of control, when Sonny
has difficulties performing his duties during the execution of prisoner
Lawrence Musgrove (Sean Combs).
Just
as Hank’s life reaches its bleakest point, fate intervenes and he meets
a black woman named Leticia (Halle Berry), whom Hank later learns is the
widow of the man he recently took to the electric chair. Initially, the
two take solace from one another, but as their relationship continues,
each comes to think that they may have found the possibility for some
sort of future with a bit of happiness. I don’t think that MONSTER’S
BALL is not an easy film for audiences to immediately relate. The
film begins bleakly, plus the characters have an emotional remoteness
that makes them unattractive. However, as MONSTER’S BALL progresses,
the character’s buried humanity begins to shine through.
What
makes MONSTER’S BALL a film worth seeing is the outstanding performances
of its cast. It came as no surprise when Halle Berry earned herself an
Academy Award for Best Actress for her raw, emotional portrayal. However,
what I did find surprising about MONSTER’S BALL was the fact that
the Academy failed to even nominate Billy Bob Thornton or Peter Boyle
for their outstanding work. Even Heath Ledger deserves praise for his
portrayal. Director Marc Forster allows the actors to immerse themselves
in their roles and his naturalistic style never shies away from the more
unpleasant moments in these characters lives. In fact, much of MONSTER’S
BALL is like an exposed nerve- extremely painful and completely lacking
in protection.
Lion's
Gate Home Entertainment has made MONSTER’S BALL available on DVD
in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback
on 16:9 displays. MONSTER’S BALL is not an attractive looking movie;
it is a low budget affair and features rather stark cinematography. However,
I’d have to rate the transfer as excellent for rendering the film as cleanly
and as well defined as it appears on the DVD. Colors are decidedly muted,
but flesh tones remain realistic throughout the course of the film. Blacks
are accurately reproduced and the contrast is a little harsh, but that
works in favor of the movie’s overall atmosphere. The film element is
free from blemishes, however grain is noticeable in a number of places
throughout. The dual layer DVD doesn’t betray any signs of digital compression
artifacts.
MONSTER’S
BALL features an intimate, but
very effective Dolby Digital 5.1 channel sound mix. This is very much
a dialogue driven film, with few opportunities for active sound effects,
but the sound designers did take good advantage of digital format’s capabilities
to create realistic sonic environments, as well as rendering the film’s
haunting score in an immersive manner. Dialogue is cleanly reproduced,
with intelligibility being limited only by performance. An English Dolby
Surround soundtrack is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English and Spanish
subtitles.
Music
and a bit of animation serve to enhance the DVD’s stylishly somber interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental materials. MONSTER’S
BALL features two running audio commentaries; the first is with director
Marc Forster and director of photography Roberto Schaefer, while the second
includes director Forster again, along with actors Billy Bob Thorton and
Halle Berry. Both commentaries have their merits; the first covers the
technical bases, while the second offers more insight into the acting
process. I think most individuals will find the second commentary more
accessible, so that is the one with which they should start.
The
Behind The Scenes section offers more than four minutes
worth of outtakes, with the highlight being Billy Boy revisiting his SLING
BLADE character. Scoring The Film runs eight minutes
and provides interviews with the director and composers, as well as a
looking at the scoring sessions. Four Deleted Scenes are
included on the DVD, and while they add further depth to the characters,
they really don’t advance the story and were obviously cut for pacing.
A trailer for the video release of MONSTER’S BALL closes out the
supplements.
As
I stated above, MONSTER’S BALL is a powerful drama that doesn’t
portray its characters in a very flattering light. However, the movie
does offer huge payoffs, thanks to the outstanding performances of a first
rate cast. Lion’s Gate has done a truly fine job with the DVD, making
this a disc that fans of the movie will want to own.
